August 11, 2014

Saudi Arabia: Two MERS cases today, not one

The Ministry of Health said on Monday that two senior citizens in Riyadh have been afflicted with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and one of them has not survived.

In a report posted on the ministry’s website, the MoH Command & Control Center said the latest fatality was a 74-year-old male, who had no pre-existing disease. The other one, who is currently under intensive care, is a 72-year-old, who has a pre-existing disease.

It said the new cases were reported to the center in the last 24 hours as of 12 noon on Monday.

With these two new cases, the total number of confirmed MERS cases in Saudi Arabia since 2012, when MERS was identified, rose to 722.

Of the total, 299 have died, 396 have recovered, and 27 are still under treatment.

On August 3, the MoH reported 10 confirmed new MERS cases during the fasting month of Ramadan, and subsequent Eid Al-Fitr holiday.

Hundreds of people were infected by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the kingdom in April and May, raising concerns about the pilgrimage in Ramadan and during October’s Haj, when millions of people will travel to Makkah and Medina.

Ramadan this year ran from about June 28 to July 27. Going back to the MOH's reports from June 28 to July 12, I can see those ten cases, the most recent being on July 10. But I don't see why they waited until August 3 to mention them as Ramadan cases.

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The Ministry of Health said on Monday that two senior citizens in Riyadh have been afflicted with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and one of them has not survived.

In a report posted on the ministry’s website, the MoH Command & Control Center said the latest fatality was a 74-year-old male, who had no pre-existing disease. The other one, who is currently under intensive care, is a 72-year-old, who has a pre-existing disease.

It said the new cases were reported to the center in the last 24 hours as of 12 noon on Monday.

With these two new cases, the total number of confirmed MERS cases in Saudi Arabia since 2012, when MERS was identified, rose to 722.

Of the total, 299 have died, 396 have recovered, and 27 are still under treatment.

On August 3, the MoH reported 10 confirmed new MERS cases during the fasting month of Ramadan, and subsequent Eid Al-Fitr holiday.

Hundreds of people were infected by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the kingdom in April and May, raising concerns about the pilgrimage in Ramadan and during October’s Haj, when millions of people will travel to Makkah and Medina.

Ramadan this year ran from about June 28 to July 27. Going back to the MOH's reports from June 28 to July 12, I can see those ten cases, the most recent being on July 10. But I don't see why they waited until August 3 to mention them as Ramadan cases.